From: Eric Weiss (eweiss@gte.net)
Date: Tue Sep 29 1998 - 00:42:39 EDT
I know that much has been written on this, but I haven't seen much that
takes into account the LXX rendering of Exodus 3:14 - where God tells
Moses His name.
The Hebrew, ehyeh asher ehyeh (excuse my non-standard transliteration)
is usually translated "I am that I am." An argument can be made for
translating it "I will be as/what I will be" since the ehyeh (Qal
impf./yiqtol 1st common singular of hayah) occurs with that meaning (the
"normal" meaning of the yiqtol form) in 3:12 and (with anoki) in 4:12
and 4:15. [This may be an overly simplistic statement on my part,
though.]
In the LXX, the rendering is: KAI EIPEN hO QEOS PROS MWUSHN, LEGWN, EGW
EIMI hO WN. KAI EIPEN, hOUTWS EREIS TOIS hUIOIS ISRAHL, hO WN APESTALKE
ME PROS hUMAS.
At 3:12 the LXX has ESOMAI META SOU. At 4:12 and 4:15 it's EGW ANOIXW TO
STOMA SOU, translating the Hebrew (lit.) "I will be with your mouth." To
me, the LXX at 4:12 and 4:15 obscures the verbal relationship between
4:12,15 and 3:12,14.
I would literally render the LXX of 3:14 as "And God spoke to Moses,
saying, I am He who Is ( or THE BEING [ONE], as Brenton's LXX translates
it). And he spoke, Thus you will say to the sons of Israel, He who Is
(or THE BEING [ONE]) sent me to you."
(This may have relevance to the hO WN KAI hO HN KAI hO ERCOMENOS in
Revelation.)
The LXX at 3:14 seems to translate the Hebrew ehyeh as hO WN. The
phrasing EGW EIMI hO WN seems to me to obscure the fact that in the
Hebrew the "name" is rendered by repeating/duplicating the ehyeh. Why
isn't the Greek EGW EIMI hWS EGW EIMI or ESOMAI hWS ESOMAI? How does the
EGW EIMI function? Could it also be either EGW hO WN or EIMI hO WN?
How does the LXX rendering of Exodus 3:14 impact on Jesus' EGW EIMI
sayings in the Gospels, since Jesus doesn't use hO WN? Was Jesus
referring to Exodus 3:14 as is commonly taught?
-- "Eric S. Weiss" http://home1.gte.net/eweiss/index.htm eweiss@gte.net S.D.G.--- B-Greek home page: http://sunsite.unc.edu/bgreek You are currently subscribed to b-greek as: [cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu] To unsubscribe, forward this message to leave-b-greek-329W@franklin.oit.unc.edu To subscribe, send a message to subscribe-b-greek@franklin.oit.unc.edu
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